Ultraportable laptop recommendations....

[Gonzo]

I'm in the market for an ultraportable laptop.

My requirements are not that heavy (mostly email and surfing, iTunes etc) so I reckon I can manage with the Ultra Low Voltage processors. I do actually want to use this as a laptop, so something that gets hot enough to fry your breakfast is out straight away; quietness is also very desirable (I have a Pentium M in one of my desktops, so I like my quiet computers....). Battery life is also a factor; up to a 14in screen and under 2kg (though the lighter the better).

No fixed budget, but aiming for £1,200 and below.

Anyone have any thoughts?

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Hi Gonzo.. on't mind me peering over your shoulder because I'm interested in any responses.

I've had a Compaq Lifebook with an 8.5" screen for 10 years. It has served me superbly, having been carted all over the world and used to maintain contact with home via various dubious internet connections! It still works but everytime new software appears it shows its age and it's definitely time for a replacement. Also, the battery is knackered and cheapest reploacement is way over £100.

Unfortunately, no doubt with flashy executives in mind, modern laptops have to be bigger and better. Just why anyone would want a 17" screen on a mobile PC is beyond me.. but they are the ones which are cheapest. Try looking for a super-portable with a small screen and you have to think about telephone numbers. My wife has a Novatech laptop with a 15" PC - excellent machine except it weighs 2.5 tons.

I'll watch this thread with great interest..

[SyllogismCheck]

I have an HP NC4010. I think they've been discontinued recently but are, at a quick Google, still available from some of the online retailers. As such, there may be a bargain to be had.

It truly is ultraportable. 12.1" TFT, 1.6Kg, 1.5GHz (or 1.6, I forget) Pentium-M, ATI Radeon graphics, almost silent once the fan's done its startup run-up and even then you need to be somewhere almost completely silent to hear it, built like an outside dunnie - you could sling it in your case loose and I doubt any harm would come to the screen as it's got an incredibly stiff outer casing, 512Mb RAM, Bluetooth, WLAN, er.... SD/MMC card reader, Infrared... all you could want really.

One thing. There's no internal optical drive bay. It's just too small. So you'd need a seperate caddy and drive. The HP one draws its power using a special USB lead which connects to an extra pin alongside one of the USB ports. That's the only compromise but if you rarely need an optical drive, no big issue. Even if you do, the caddy in itself is tiny. Hardly bigger than the bare slim drive and with no power supply to tote around. Hardly an inconvenience for the benefit of such a portable laptop.

It's still big enough to be used and typed on like proper laptop though. Absolutely no compromise there. Recommended.

Budget wise, the one I bought was the very top spec', although strangely not fitted with the fastest processor (they went up to 1.8GHz I think which wasn't available on the 'bells and whistles' model for some reason) of the range. It cost about £1500 inc. VAT.
I imagine that a similar or slightly lower spec' one would be well within your budget given some haggling over its discontinued status.

Worth a look for its sheer toughness alone. Portable means knocks. Mine's taken plenty and still looks and works as new.

[sixmilehighclub]

I have a Sony Vaio VGN-S4. It weighs less than 2kg, fits in a small case (in a protective slip cover) and I got a deal which meant it was only £1k.

It comes with dual CD/DVD/R/RW, Magicgate/ Memory stick, two USB ports, wifi, ethernet & modem ports, Centrino, etc.

Also has black screen so resolution/ picture is great!

There are a few more arrived on the market for around the £1200 mark, which have smaller screens, but this is like widescreen so watching dvds look better.

It's a mouse touchpad, which is fine, but I bought a Teleadapt wireless mouse from BA onboard for £20 to use as a remote control for the DVD!!

[Conan the Librarian]

I purchased an Acer last year with a similar set of requirements in mind, but found it a pain to lug around all day long, with the extra battery etc.etc. Last November, I bought a Dell PDA to cope with SatNav and a few of the laptop chores. Thing, is, that it is so damned useful (Wireless/Bluetooth) that the lappy now sits permanently plumbed in and acts as little more than a backup facility to the desktop. The PDA has been a revelation and I wish I had got that first.

Conan

[tallseabird]

Microsoft have just announced the origami project, www.origamiproject.com

Its somewhere between a PDA and a laptop and is due out (at least in the US) in April at $600 to $1000

I know I am interested - but not for a while.

[Conan the Librarian]

Origami is still almost a paper project, in that reported battery life is still very much shorter than hoped for. 15 minutes is not going to get you far. By next year, it will most likely be starting to look good. However, the original idea of a cheap and ultra portable device has already been kissed off... $1,000? You could get a good lappy for that.

The only other problem, is that when you look at it, you wonder why they don't just put maybe a keyboard on it that could fold over and protect the screen when not in use... Wondering if you have seen something similar, maybe? (The Bluetooth keyboard idea is good - though of course, you will end up lugging it around with you)



Conan

[Gonzo]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

Origami is still almost a paper project

Humour as well!!!!!!:ok:

[Jhieminga]

Have a look at the MSI Megabook. I don't have any experience with their laptops myself but have gotten some good recommendations from owners of a S270.
http://msicomputer.co.uk/products.aspx?cat_id=390

[Captain Sensible]

I have the same as "6mile", great laptops but more expensive than the equivalents, but probably better quality, The top end one in PC World has 100 GB 1024 RAM 2 Ghz Centrino i think, but is about 1700 sterling or so..

[swordfling]

Have a look at the tiny carbon fibre Sony VAIO TX series (http://www.vaiopro.sony-europe.com/professional/en/notebooks_tx.php).

Specs inc. 1.25kg, 6-7hrs battery life, 11.1" WXGA X-black LCD (1366 x 768), 80GB HDD, 1GB RAM ... not sure about heat/noise, just know I want one!!

[youngskywalker]

I just bought an HP1200 series notebook for £699 from John Lewis. Has an 80gb hard drive, 512DDR, 1.5ghz,wifi,14"widescreen brightview, great for dvd's and it fits into my small flight case easily, great when away from home. Runs flight sim 2004 too which is good. I wanted one of the sony vaio range same as six miles' but just a little too expensive for my budget.

[BANANASBANANAS]

I bought the Fujitsu P1510 and am very happy with it. 60gb, 512 RAM and, best of all, 0.99kg. Battery lasts just over 3 hours and the whole thing gets lost in a corner of my Nav bag.:ok: